Re: BREAKING NEWS: Darren Wilson Identified As Officer Who Fatally Shot Michael Brown
Ferguson Police Identify Darren Wilson as Officer in Fatal Shooting and Link Teenager to Robbery
FERGUSON, Mo. — The police in Ferguson broke their weeklong silence on Friday and identified the officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager. At the same time, they released videotape and photographs to show that the young man, Michael Brown, was suspected of taking part in a robbery at a convenience store shortly before the shooting.
The manner in which Ferguson officials released the information, which included a police report on the robbery but no new details about the fatal shooting last week, set off renewed anger among residents. Gov. Jay Nixon and Captain Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, an African-American who is heading the security efforts in Ferguson, tried to defuse their frustration and to address broader concerns about the lack of racial diversity among police forces in the area and problems in local schools.
After a peaceful night on Thursday, which had followed several nights of violent confrontations, concerns grew on Friday that the release of information about the robbery would stoke more disorder.
Pleading for calm, Captain Johnson said, “In our anger, we have to make sure that we don’t burn down our own house.” He added, “That does not prove a point.” Captain Johnson said he had not been told how the authorities planned to release the information. “I would have liked to have been consulted,” he said.
Earlier Friday, Ferguson’s police chief, Thomas Jackson, identified the officer who fatally shot Mr. Brown, 18, as Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the department who had no disciplinary actions taken against him. Chief Jackson did not disclose any other information about the officer. He has been placed on administrative leave.
Greg Kloeppel, a lawyer for the union representing the Ferguson police, said Officer Wilson had received an “extraordinary effort in the line of duty” award in February, but it was not immediately clear what that case involved.
Chief Jackson said that Officer Wilson had been alerted to the robbery on Saturday shortly before the encounter with Mr. Brown, who was walking home from a store when he was shot.
The Ferguson police released security camera videotape after the news conference that showed a confrontation inside the store about 15 minutes before Saturday’s shooting. The images show a man, identified by the police as Mr. Brown, who appears to be pushing a store clerk.
The police said that Mr. Brown, who was in the store with a friend, had stolen a box of Swisher Sweets cigars. When confronted by the clerk, Mr. Brown “forcefully pushed him back into a display rack” before leaving, the police report said.
Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer for the Brown family, said that “Nothing, based on the facts before us, justifies the execution-style murder by this police officer in broad daylight."
Mr. Crump said that he and the Brown family were “flabbergasted” that the police would release security camera photos, which police say show Mr. Brown, but none of Officer Wilson.
“The police are playing games here and the parents are beyond incensed with the way that the police are handling the distribution of information,” Mr. Crump said. “The police are not being transparent and they are strategically trying to justify this execution-style murder."
Mr. Brown’s death had ignited several days of protests that have been quashed by police officers shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at groups of demonstrators.
Earlier, Chief Jackson said the authorities had agreed that Friday was an appropriate time to identify the officer.
“A lot of the stakeholders had a big meeting conversation yesterday, and then yesterday evening,” Chief Jackson told a St. Louis television station, “and we made the determination that today is the day.”
“Nothing specific went into that decision, but we feel that there’s a certain calm. There’s a huge outcry from the community,” he said, as well as a number of legal requests for the information.
The initial refusal of Chief Jackson to reveal the officer’s name had galvanized demonstrators and prompted civil rights groups to go to court to force its release. Chief Jackson had said that his unwillingness to disclose the name had been based on safety concerns after death threats against the officer and his family were posted on social media.
On Thursday, Governor Nixon ordered the Missouri Highway Patrol to take control of security and crowd control in Ferguson, replacing the St. Louis County Police Department, which has been criticized for its heavy-handed tactics against protesters. Wednesday night’s protests ended with the police firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd.
The difference in tactics and tone was apparent Thursday night. The armored vehicles and police cars were gone, and the atmosphere was celebratory. A street barricaded on previous nights was filled with slow-moving cars blasting their horns. There were few signs of police officers, let alone a forceful response.
Clashes between the heavily armed police officers and furious protesters in Ferguson have defined the aftermath of Mr. Brown’s death on Saturday, and the latest moves came as federal and state officials scrambled to quell the growing crisis. Alarm had been rising across the country at images of a mostly white police force, in a predominantly African-American community, aiming military-style weapons at protesters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/u...fatal-shooting-in-ferguson-missouri.html?_r=0